Men&#39;s anatomical underwear/swimwear and athletic support garment

ABSTRACT

A circular knit male brief is provided. The brief is a single pouch supporting the male genitals without straps, waistband or buttocks cover, retained by an integrated adjustable collar closure around the base of the genitals. specifically underwear, sun-wear, swimwear, supporter, or enhancement device designed to be worn under—or instead of—men&#39;s usual underwear and swimwear. The brief&#39;s form follows the anatomical design of the genitals—the penis and scrotum—as a single, integrated entity. Its one piece, seamless single-pouch construction has an entrance opening with a closure that encircles the base of the genitals. To achieve superior support and comfort the brief is designed as a single pouch using circular knit technology to create separate contours for each testicle and the penis, to allow for the changing shapes, movements and precise positions that the genitals make of their own accord to maintain comfort and health. The brief&#39;s construction contains the male genitalia as a single unit—which prevents them from separating, misaligning, sticking and disappearing between the legs—and repositions both the penis and the scrotum to a more prominent anterior position. The brief is configured to reflect the genitals as a mass, allowing for the authentic expression of masculine style without reflecting the exact contours of the penis and testicles. A fly system built into the pouch allows for the release of the penis for urinating without having to remove the brief.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to male wearing apparel, specifically to circularknit wearing apparel for men as either underwear or swimwear and methodsof making same.

2. Description of the Related Art

Male underwear, swimwear, sports, or medical protective devices are wellknown and commonly comprise briefs, boxer shorts, bikini briefs, thongs,various forms of athletic supporters, and cups, and what are referred toin the medical art as bandages. Most styles of briefs, supporters,underwear, and swimwear garments share the common characteristics ofeither a front pouch or panel, plus an integrated waistband, a buttockscover, or straps running underneath the perineum that connect the frontof the garment to the back. Some styles of male underwear are engineeredas a single garment with a dual-pouch construction; one pouch to coverthe penis and one pouch to cover the scrotum, each following the preciseanatomical design of the penis and scrotum to allow them each to appearin their exact image.

No prior-art underwear or swimwear, whether conventional or alternative,is designed to house the genitalia in a single-pouch circular-knitconstruction without waistband, buttocks cover or straps.

PRIOR ART

First Category

The first category includes all forms of conventional, traditional, andtrendy underwear, whether they are briefs, bikinis, designer briefs,boxers, fitted boxers, athletic supporters, thongs, and all styles ofswimwear. Their primary design characteristic is that they all have afront panel that either covers and/or provides a small amount ofmaterial to act as a support for holding the genitals. These frontgenital covers are integrated into the underwear and held to the body byincluding a waistband. Usually, but not necessarily, the designs of thiscategory include a covering for the buttocks. Alternatively, the rearportion can employ straps that extend from the perineum to theback-center or the back-sides of the waistband.

Examples of the first category can be found in the U.S. Pat. No.1,119,944 to Fritsch (1914), U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,671 to Nelkin (1970),U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,666 to Atlee (1970), Des. 304,775 to Eckrode (1989),U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,234 to Searcy (1992), U.S. Pat. No. 5,157,793 toMichels (1992), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,974 to Allen (1993). Almost allunderwear and swimwear found throughout the marketplace and in catalogsfall into this first category. The most common differences in thesedesigns are various waistband widths, how large the brand names areimprinted on the waistbands, and whether or not they have extendedmaterial around the back to cover the behind.

Second Category

The second category is nearly a sub category of the first category. Mostgarments in this category possess an integrated waistband; many have abuttocks cover; some have underneath perineum straps connecting thefront to the back. The design element that distinguishes this categoryfrom the first is variations in the front genital panel. Each of theseunderwear garments creates front panel mechanisms that attempt toseparate the penis from the scrotum.

Examples of the second category are shown in U.K. Patent 264,690 toSarasow (1927), and U.S. Pat. No. 860,584 to Teufel (1907), U.S. Pat.No. 1,477,187 to Rayne (1923), U.S. Pat. No. 2,700,971 to Mestel (1955),U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,630 to Connery (1980), Des. 268,964 to Riedell(1983), U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,167 to Ebenal (1985), U.S. Pat. No.4,702,239 to Ichikawa (1987), U.S. Pat. No. 5,070,869 to Zhang (1991),U.S. Pat. No. 5,237,706, to Nalbandian (1993), U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,592to Grizzaffi (1994), U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,283,912 and 5,429,622 to Chung(1994 and 1995), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,061,840 to Alligator (2000). Mostof these contraptions are designed for surgical or medical applicationsand are not intended to provide comfort or support, using either straps,flaps, channels, loops, yokes, pockets, bags, holes, or slots forhanging, suspending or entering the penis into, or containing thescrotum. Riedell's and Alligator's underwear are designed to reveal thetrue contours of the penis and scrotum separately and are for when onewishes to express the precise forms of one's genitals.

Third Category

The third category includes protective devices structured to cover onlythe male genitalia. These devices are held in place by wearingconventional briefs or athletic supporters over them; that is, they haveno integral retaining means. Representative designs in this category arethe U.S. Pat. No. 3,229,692 to Creed (1966), U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,422 toPhillips (1967), Des. 294,075 to Bernstein (1988), and U.S. Pat. No.4,731,063 to Newkirk (1988). All items in this category are cumbersomein that they are retained by an extra piece of clothing.

Fourth Category

The fourth category includes decorative and protective devices which aredesigned to cover only the crotch area of the wearer, whether it is thescrotum or the penis or both for men, or the vaginal and pubic areas forwomen. Representative designs in this category are U.S. Pat. No.2,534,934 to Viniegra (1950), U.S. Pat. No. 3,339,208 to Marbach (1967),U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,931 to Kidwell, Jr. (1986), U.S. Pat. No. 5,036,839to Weiss et al. (1991), U.S. Pat. No. 5,314,447 to Papurt (1994), U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,367,715 and 5,396,662 to Leonard et al. (1994 and 1995), andU.S. Pat. No. 5,467,482 to Crawford (1995).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved andversatile underwear garment for men.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a seamlesscircular knit single-pouch male brief for providing support for andshaping the male genitalia.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

See: FIG. 1

1. A circular knit male brief, said male individual having a penis and ascrotum, said garment comprising: a. a pouch shaped to cover and enclosesaid penis and scrotum, b. said pouch is a constructed garment with acommon entrance opening that provides an adjustable retaining closurearound the base of the genitals, c. said garment is constructed ofcloth, whereby said garment clothes said genitalia in a covering thatconforms to said penis, said scrotum and said genital base, and holdsand supports said genitalia in a comfortable, supportive and stylishway.
 2. A circular knit male brief, said male individual having a penisand a scrotum, said garment comprising: a. a pouch shaped to cover andenclose said penis and scrotum; b. said garment being formed of aseamless single piece of stretch-knit material; whereby said garmentclothes said genitalia in a covering that conforms to said penis andsaid scrotum and holds and supports said genitalia in a comfortable andstylish way. c. said garment featuring a rib-knit collar and integratedfly portion connected to said common opening, whereby said garmentallows the wearer to urinate without removing the entire garment.
 3. Acircular knit male brief, said male individual having a penis and ascrotum, said garment comprising: a. a pouch shaped to cover and enclosesaid penis and scrotum; b. said pouch a single constructed garment witha common opening; and c. a pair of male briefs, said common opening ofsaid garment being attached to an aperture on a front portion of saidmale briefs; whereby said garment clothes said genitalia in a coveringthat conforms to said penis, said scrotum and holds and supports saidgenitalia in a comfortable and stylish way.